The Daily Stockman

I get the feeling it's going to be a daily series, anyway.

A Texas SuperPAC with close ties to Sen. John Cornyn is launching a “Shady Stockman” social media campaign to spotlight ethical questions dogging Rep. Steve Stockman, the senator’s top rival in the March primary.

The political action committee, Texans for a Conservative Majority, has plenty of funds to bolster Cornyn, thanks to a $2 million donation last spring from Houston home builder Bob Perry.

You know, I might start to feel sorry for Steve if this keeps up.

A Twitter handle, @shadystockman, has only one follower so far. The website and Facebook pages are also in the early stages. But there’s enough to get the gist of the attacks on the Friendswood Republican ...

Under the heading “Finances,” the site refers to a recent Houston Chronicle investigation that found Stockman had failed to sufficiently explain the source of $350,000 in income over the last two years. Under “Ethics,” it notes his failure to file required congressional disclosure forms, and a scandal involving illegal donations that prompted him to fire two aides.

Under “Criminal history,” it notes that Stockman had been jailed repeatedly and was even caught once by jailers with Valium in his underwear – an admission he made to Texas Monthly in a 1996 profile, explaining the hell-raising days of his youth, before he found Jesus and conservative activism.

Website visitors can spread the message at the click of a mouse, tweeting out such taunts as “@StockmanSenate can try to run for Senate, but he can’t run away from his past. See more at: http://www.shadystockman.com/#sthash.FIj2ji6O.dpuf

Sorry, but I'm not going to do any more than what I just did in order to help John Cornyn get re-elected.  I wonder how the Tea People feel about Big John brutalizing their boy like this?

-- Under the headline "Tea party candidate selling Obama ‘barf bags’":

Texas Republican Senate candidate Steve Stockman has nowhere near the millions of dollars his GOP opponent Sen. John Cornyn has, but the tea party congressman has a novel fundraising ploy: selling Obama “barf bags.”

Stockman unveiled the bags Tuesday on his website alongside a letter that touts the candidate as a “proud, principled conservative Tea Party Republican” who has spent “the last few years defeating liberals by helping train and launch the Tea Party.”

Every $10 donation comes with one bag printed with an image of the president and a tagline that reads, “Socialism Makes Me SICK!”

“If I win this race, you and I will be able to spend decades repealing Obama’s radical bills, unseating Obama’s radical appointees and ripping out Obama’s radical regulations,” Stockman writes in his campaign letter. “Obama’s socialism is too dangerous to send timid backstabbers to the Senate.”

Supplies are limited!  Get 'em while they're hot!  Puke your guts out!

Now puke some more!  You've only got about three months to get it all out of your system.

Update: You might need a barf bag for this.

Those looking for dirt on Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) need look no further. TPM has obtained photographs taken by the local officials who recently shut down Stockman's campaign office in Webster, Texas. And the images are dirty. And dusty. And grimy.

The story, to recap, was reported last month by The Houston Chronicle. According to the Chronicle, officials in Webster, Texas in November ordered the emergency closure of Stockman's campaign headquarters, citing multiple safety violations. The newspaper reported that various campaign staffers and volunteers were working and sleeping in the office, located in a former a former motorcycle shop considered unsafe for habitation.

Dirty dozen vie to replace Stockman in 36

In extending the deadline to file an extra week, the Texas GOP still couldn't come up with anyone known outside their respective district communities. Harvey Kronberg with the subheadline and teaser.

No big surprises but Houston businessman Ben Streusand joins the fray

There are many little-known candidates, but some of the top names include longtime Chief of Staff to Rep. Kevin Brady Doug Centilli, former Liberty County Judge Phil Fitzgerald and Dave Norman, who is a prominent insurance agent.

Further research reveals the full list.

Streusand and John Manlove, both of Houston, Robin Riley and Jim Engstrand, both of Seabrook, and Pat Kasprzak of Crosby filed for the seat on Monday. Riley is a former Seabrook mayor. One other Republican, Brian Babin, a dentist and former mayor of Woodville, also took advantage of the deadline extension, filing on Friday. They joined six Republicans who had filed for the seat before the original deadline: Nassau Bay City Councilman John Amdur; Doug Centilli, a longtime chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands; former Liberty County Judge Phil Fitzgerald; Lumberton lawyer Charles "Chuck" Meyer; former Seabrook City Councilman Kim Morrell; and insurance agent Dave Norman.

Manlove might be this ad guy, but is probably the former mayor of Pasadena, which has been in the news recently for trying to water down the Latino representation on their city council.  That Manlove also ran in 2008 for CD-22, then occupied by Nick Lampson.  He lost to Shelley Sekula Dracula Cunt Gibbs.  Also this, from Roll Call last week.

In 2012, Meyer unsuccessfully ran against Stockman in the 12-person open primary and earned about 4 percent of the vote. He has, as of this writing, 27 followers on Facebook. From that account, he has attacked Stockman from the right and advocated for the impeachment of President Barack Obama.

Dave Norman unsuccessfully ran for state Senate in 2012.

Back to the Trib piece for this.

The filing extension only applied to the Republican Party, and anyone who had already filed for another race could not withdraw to join the CD-36 race. That shut out people like state Rep. James White, R-Hillister, who was interested in running for Stockman’s seat. His district, House District 19, encompasses the northern half of CD-36. Texas Republican Party officials said the decisions were based on state election law.

White criticized Stockman for withdrawing his re-election filing at the last minute. Though most were not aware of Stockman’s decision ahead of time, three of the six original CD-36 candidates — Centilli, Norman and Morrell — said last week they had advance notice that Stockman was planning to withdraw from the race.

“It is unfortunate that Congressman Stockman and some Washington insiders have decided to do D.C.-style power politics and inject them into southeast Texas,” White said.

David Bradley, a member of the State Board of Education, had filed for re-election but, like White, explored switching to the CD-36 race. He expressed frustration that the secretary of state’s office and the Texas Republican Party had interpreted election law as such that he could legally withdraw his earlier SBOE filing but could not join the CD-36 race under the filing deadline extension. He plans to continue with his original plan and run for for re-election.

“I talked to a couple of [state Republican Executive Committee] members, and I had an election attorney looking at it,” Bradley said. “It wasn't worth a food fight.”

White and Bradley shouldn't be underestimated in terms of electoral prowess; it was White who knocked off longtime Texas House incumbent Tuffy Hamilton when redistricting forced the two conservatives to run against each other in 2012.  And Bradley is well-renowned for his efforts to take the SBOE back to the 1960s.  They are forced to stand by and watch, and wait for 2016.

Of those who jumped in, the ones that spend the largest amount of their personal wealth ought to move on to the runoff next April.  Today, my bet would be on Streusand and Norman (he's close to Stockman and will likely serve, if elected, as de facto Stockman).

I said before I didn't want to blog about this race unless the candidates began roasting and consuming each other.  I am delighted to see that remains a distinct possibility.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance calls on Congress to deal seriously with the plight of the long-term unemployed as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff previews the upcoming hearing on Texas' ban on same-sex marriage with a bold prediction of how it will likely play out.

Horwitz at Texpatriate recaps the recent runoff election in the city of Houston.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is glad Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte are running to support public education. Too bad all of the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor are running to teach the Bible in place of science. Psst: The earth is not flat, nor does the sun revolve around our planet.

The first in a series of profiles of the candidates appearing on the 2014 statewide Democratic ballot appears at Brains and Eggs.

Eye On Williamson has the the list of Democratic candidates that filed for 2014. They give us reason for hope in Williamson County in 2014: Williamson County races with Democrats on the ballot.

Neil at All People Have Value wrote that a picture of a Christmas wreath on a door is as good as the real thing. Friendly and flexible people know that it is the shadow that sells the substance. All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.

=========================
And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

LawFlog asks if George P. Bush is padding his resume.

Rep. Mike Villarreal celebrates the increase in health insurance enrollments by Texans on the federal exchange.

Egberto Willies analyzes the exchange from yesterday's This Week between Robert Reich and Newt Gingrich regarding who and what is responsible for the vast income equality gap.

Megan Randall documents her experience with Healthcare.gov, which got her a better policy than what she previously had at a lower price.

Grits for Breakfast argues that state fire marshall Chris Conneally should be named Texan of the Year by the Dallas Morning News.

Offcite explores the Houston townhouse as "a formal expression of laws that make no explicit claims to form".

Progress Texas crowns the Ten Worst Texans of 2013, though how they narrowed it down to ten remains a mystery.

Paul Kennedy looks at how corporations take money from taxpayers to pay executives a king's ransom.

Sunday Funnies

"Wal-Mart announced this week that the best-selling item on Black Friday was a pack of towels that sold for $1.74. So heads up, kids: Christmas is gonna suck."

-- Seth Meyers

Megyn Kelly: For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white.

Stephen Colbert: Yes. Thank you. For all those kids watching Fox News at 9:40 at night, Santa is white. Besides, a black Santa is a terrible idea. If a homeowner in Florida sees a black man coming down their chimney, he is going to get shot. 'Officer, I was only defending my milk and cookies!'"

-- The Colbert Report

"Santa is just white? Who are you actually talking to? Children who are sophisticated enough to be watching a news channel at 10 o'clock at night, yet innocent enough to still believe Santa Claus is real, yet racist enough to be freaked out if he isn’t white."

-- Jon Stewart

President Obama shook hands with Cuban dictator Raul Castro. Or as Fox News reported it: "Foreign communist shakes hands with the leader of Cuba."

-- Conan O'Brien

Incumbents bounced in H-Town

With voter turnout failing to reach 30,000, 37,000, a significant anti-incumbent sentiment ruled the day (and night).

Two Houston City Council incumbents and two incumbents on the Houston Community College board lost their seats Saturday, according to unofficial runoff election results.

With all precincts reporting, controversial first-term council incumbents Helena Brown, in northwest Houston's District A, and Andrew C. Burks Jr., in At-Large Position 2, fell to their challengers, as did HCC trustees Yolanda Navarro Flores and Herlinda Garcia.

Brown lost her rematch with Brenda Stardig, the incumbent she defeated to gain the seat two years ago.  [...]

Burks fell to challenger David W. Robinson, a civic leader and former city planning commissioner. Robinson raised far more campaign cash than did Burks, who had run unsuccessfully numerous times before winning his seat two years ago.  [...]

In the At-Large 3 runoff, bail bondsman and civic activist Michael Kubosh, best known for leading the charge against Houston's red-light cameras, topped former Harris County Department of Education trustee and former mayoral candidate Roy Morales.  [...]

In south Houston's District D, lobbyist Dwight Boykins bested businesswoman Georgia D. Provost. Boykins had thumped the 11 other candidates in fundraising heading into November. Term-limited District D Councilwoman Wanda Adams was elected to the Houston ISD board.

In a very low-turnout race in the East End's District I, Harris County jailer and civic activist Robert Gallegos beat Graci Garcés, who is chief of staff for the term-limited James Rodriguez.

Political analysts had pointed to a larger rivalry in the race, given that Gallegos served eight years as an aide to former eastside Harris County commissioner and now-state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, and that Garcés worked for former council member and now-State Rep. Carol Alvarado. Alvarado and Garcia waged a bitter campaign earlier this year for the post Garcia now holds. [...]

In the Houston Community College contests, District 1 incumbent Flores lost to challenger Zeph Capo, a vice president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. In District 3, Adriana Tamez, an education consultant, beat incumbent Garcia, who was appointed to the post after the resignation of the prior trustee. In the runoff for the open District 5 seat, businessman Robert Glaser topped commercial real estate agent Phil Kunetka.

Sorry about all those ellipses; I'm just not as fond of Mark Jones' opinion as the Chron is.  But he does get one thing right: the Sylvia Garcia-Carol Alvarado dynamic is now the one to watch in the East End (Sylvia's team is 2-0).  Who aligns with whom in the future may make the biggest difference in who wins, which is far more interesting than seeing who raised the most money.  But the worst news is that some of these downballot races didn't have 5000 votes in total cast in them.  Positively dismal.

Noah live-blogged the evening and has the vote tallies by race as Clerk Stanart slowly managed to get them counted  -- an hour after polls close before the EV comes in ?!? -- so you can see that the largest trend that Election Day reversed was Capo's win in the HCC 1 contest.

No disrespect intended to tonight's victors, but if Mayor Parker just traded Helena Brown for Michael Kubosh, then there are no real winners or losers.  But if you look it as Melissa Noriega traded for Kubosh...

Corporate Super PACs now allowed in all Texas elections

I rail on about the poisoning influence of money in politics for many reasons.  This is one of them.

The Watchdog wants you to know how Texas government and politics are about to change in a fundamental way. A little-noticed lawsuit has cleared the way for a historic switch. For the first time, corporations can make direct contributions to super PACs to influence state, county, local and school board elections in Texas.

You mean like that U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United decision that did the same for federal races?

Exactly. In lawyer talk, this aligns Texas with the federal ruling.

Cut the lawyer talk. What does this mean for the average voter?

In the darkest scenario, a millionaire donor from out-of-state could chuck gobs of money into a school board race and overthrow a board. Woe to a town mayor who upsets a big company. Small-town races could suddenly see a massive influx of corporate money handled through what state officials call “direct campaign expenditure only committees.”

I don’t get it.

Corporations were not allowed to donate to Texas elections through committees or any other way. Now they can pool their money with individual donors in these new political action committees. And these super PACs, although not allowed to make direct contributions to candidates, can spend unlimited amounts to campaign for one side or another. They will supposedly operate independent of the candidates.

How did this happen?

A group called Texans for Free Enterprise filed a federal lawsuit against the Texas Ethics Commission. The state lost. Dallas lawyer Chris Gober is the winning lawyer.

What does he say?

He says, “It’s very controversial. Some people certainly take the position that the more money in politics, the worse. What this particular decision represents is us requiring the state of Texas to recognize the bounds of the First Amendment that have been established by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Corporations still cannot donate directly to candidates, Gober says. “What the law still does is prevent corporations from actively engaging with candidates and giving direct money to candidates in ways that create the danger of quid pro quo corruption.”

Do you think that’s true, Watchdog Man?

We’ll see. What we do know is that corporations will have more power to influence Texas elections than ever, and they were no shrinking violet before this. Gober says, “A lot of people believe that corporations are affected by government policies more so than individuals, that they have the right to engage in the debate to determine how the people are going to be governed.”

Are there limits to the donations?

No limits.

What does the losing party, the Texas Ethics Commission, say?

Officials are changing state election law. TEC general counsel Natalia Ashley says, “It’s hard to know how it’s going to impact races since this is the first time it will be allowed.”

Watchdog, did you talk to a political expert?

I did. Cal Jillson, the SMU political science professor, says that since individuals could already donate unlimited amounts to Texas races, this won’t have a dramatic effect. He suggests that some corporations will be hesitant to get involved in races: “Their customers are on both sides of divisive issues.”

What about Allan Saxe, over at the University of Texas at Arlington?

Saxe tells The Watchdog: “I’m for free speech. It may be unfair, but the First Amendment doesn’t talk about fairness. It talks about freedom, and that’s what the case is based on. In our society, everybody is trying to be fair and make everybody equal. … Money is not fair. But as long as people earn their money honestly and legally, I have no quarrel with it.”

What can the rest of us do, Watchdog?

My suggestion: Voters must pay attention to where political money comes from, why donors are giving and what they hope to get out of it. Contributor information and PAC registration will be available for free viewing on the Texas Ethics Commission website.

Obviously there are far too many people invested in the status quo -- all the way down to university political science professors -- for this development to be slowed down, stopped, or rolled back any time soon.  The efforts of organizations like Move to Amend simply can't keep up.  Of all of the recent developments suggesting that the tide is turning in Texas, this one law will see to it that the corporate politicians on both sides of the aisle will hang on much longer than we the people want.

To paraphrase Jesse Ventura, they're already dug in like an Alabama tick.

What they taught me in Boy Scouts about how to remove a tick was to light a match, blow it out, apply it to the tick's backside, and when he releases, grab him and crush him.  Trust me, it works.

That's the only way we're going to get rid of these blood-sucking insects attached to our democracy.

Houston municipal election turnout anemic, and other local updates

-- Early voting concluded Tuesday, and a bit more than 20,000 Houstonians have cast ballots.

The total number of early voters was lower than the 2011 runoff elections for city council seats. More than 23,000 people voted early that year.

How embarrassing is that?  Forty thousand votes is going to be a stretch for this runoff.  The total will probably be closer to thirty.  Update: Charles' spreadsheet makes it look as if 50K might be reachable.

This Saturday is your last chance to be counted.  Kuff has the info you need, including the links to the runoff particulars, if you still need help deciding.  Just keep in mind that money doesn't matter, no matter how many times the political consultants say it.  All that counts is you.

-- Annise Parker opposes the attempt by the Houston historical commission to designate the Astrodome as an historical landmark.  Even though the Dome is outside the city's juridiction -- it's always been the purview of Harris County -- the Dome needs friends in high places and this doesn't help.

After all the good she'd done lately, she was bound to disappoint me in some fashion.  There was no need for her to weigh in publicly on this small detail, whether she supported the effort or not.

-- City council members are furiously and repetitively tagging (delaying via parliamentary procedure) the payday lending ordinance.  Once the elections are passed, you start to see the real people and their priorities.  Al I can say here is: 'remember their names'.  Stace and Noah have more.  Update: And also Burnt Orange.

-- The most-watched television station in Houston (by number of viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic) is... the local Univision affiliate.

Univision 45 announced this week that it is now the No. 1 station in the Houston market beating out local ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates.

With two days remaining in the November 2013 sweep period, KXLN Univision 45 is Houston's No. 1 broadcast station among Adults 18-49 in major dayparts including: daytime, early news, primetime and late news, regardless of language.

The tide has already turned, and (almost) no one noticed.

-- Finally, there's going be a great documentary next week about the tumultuous 1993 football season experienced by the Houston Oilers.

“A Football Life: Houston ’93,” which airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday on NFL Network, begins with audio/visual doom and gloom: a shot of the deserted Astrodome and, amid NFL Films composer Dave Robidoux’s ominous musical score, the voice of narrator Josh Charles recalling the team that broke the collective spirit of Houston football fans 20 years ago.

“It sits crumbing in the Texas sun, dwarfed by Reliant Stadium,” Charles says. “The Houston Astrodome, once dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World, now looks like a practice bubble.

“Trapped inside this portal to the past are the ghosts of the Houston Oilers. Here in 1993, they were one of the most talented teams in NFL history – and, perhaps, the most dysfunctional.”

That was the year that two of their coaches got into a fistfight on the sidelines, that an offensive lineman missed a game to attend the birth of his child and was criticized by the team's owner, and that a defensive lineman shot and killed himself after he wrecked his car, killing his childhood friend.  I can still remember hearing the 911 tape, with the sound of the gunshot.

Makes this year's Texans travails seem piddling, doesn't it?

Keystone XL finds new life

Remember what I wrote last month?  Back from the dead.

Refusing to be denied, TransCanada is "repurposing" the pipeline that has cost them so  much money and bad publicity in order to relieve the glut of oil being stored at the nation's midsection hub of Cushing, OK.

“TransCanada is pleased to confirm that at approximately 10:04 am Central Time on Saturday, December 7, 2013, the company began to inject oil in the Gulf Coast Project pipeline as it moves closer to the start of commercial service,” company spokesman Shawn Howard told the Houston Chronicle.

The announcement was an indication that the $2.3 billion, 485-mile pipeline is another step closer to completion. The corporation previously said in a letter to regulators that the pipeline would begin service on January 3. It later retracted that claim, stating that it would not be in service before mid-January. 

More on that oil backlog.

Increased southbound pipeline and rail service has reduced a crude oil backup at the Cushing, Okla. pipeline hub, but has created a glut on the Gulf Coast—possibly presenting  opportunities for investment in transportation infrastructure.

Alembic Global Advisors said in a report this week that the smoother flow through Cushing has sent more crude to the Gulf Coast from prolific fields including the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Permian Basin in West Texas.

James Sullivan, an analyst with Alembic, wrote that a resulting oversupply is depressing Gulf Coast  prices, and may increase enthusiasm for more investment in transportation from the Bakken and Permian directly to the east and west coast.

“We would expect to see the Bakken rail terminals to the east coast filling up again and renewed talk of a Permian-to-west-coast pipeline, which had been shelved due to lackluster shipper interest,” Sullivan wrote.

A whole new set of problems for our energy producers here in Texas and across the country.  Where's that tiny violin of mine?

Keystone XL (this time I'll condition it slightly) likely remains very dead for the transportation of tar sands oil, which was its original purpose.  Here's why I say that.

John Podesta's return to the White House could dim prospects for the Keystone XL pipeline's approval, environmentalists said Wednesday, as the Democratic Party elder and Keystone critic crafts policies to curb climate change.

Podesta, who was chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, will have the title "counselor to the president" and chiefly advise President Barack Obama on energy and climate change issues, the White House said this week.

In the past, Podesta has aligned himself with environmentalist foes of TransCanada Corp's 1,200-mile (1,900-km) pipeline that would carry 830,000 barrels a day of oil sands crude from western Canada to the Gulf Coast.

The $5.4 billion link between Alberta oil fields and Texas refiners is expected to spur production of a fuel that environmentalists say worsens climate change.

B-B-But, you say, Podesta has recused himself from input on KXL.  True enough.

On Tuesday night, the White House said that because of his pre-existing views on Keystone, Podesta would recuse himself from the matter. "In discussions with Denis," a White House aide told the New Yorker, referring to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, "John suggested that he not work on the Keystone Pipeline issue, in review at the State Department, given that the review is far along in the process and John’s views on this are well known. Denis agreed that was the best course of action."

I'm sure he'll never offer an opinion, even if he is asked.  Right?  Let's go back to see what former EPA head Carol Browner said just a couple of months ago...

Speaking on a panel in October, Brown predicted “there will be some twists and turns” in the debate over the Keystone XL pipeline but “at the end of the day [Obama] is going to say no.” 

Now let's review.

Despite the fact that it is riddled with holes from shoddy welding, the Keystone XL pipeline will transmit oil south very soon.  Just not tar sands oil.  Tar sands oil will still get here (to the refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, the only ones in the country that can process it) by rail, however, and is probably doing so even as this is posted.

That's at least a lose-lose-lose by my count.

And as we learned above, oil is now backing up at the Gulf refineries, waiting to be produced into the various petroleum products the world depends upon, because the nation's refining operations are at peak capacity.  As a result, we (that is to say, the US) may begin exporting to other countries, since demand here -- due to improved consumption efficiencies, a sluggish national economy, and other factors -- is soft.  This was one of the original arguments against KXL; that the gasoline, etc. refined from tar sands oil, or even the crude product itself, would be sold to China.

The only thing that we might be able to point to as a 'win' is lower gas prices in the short term.  Which in the long term discourages weaning the nation off of oil in favor of alternative fuels and perpetuating the boom-and-bust cycles that benefit oil companies, oil traders, and market speculators.  And also punishes those who consume gasoline, those who must breathe the air made toxic by the refining, and those who live in the global climate made unstable by greenhouse gases from fossil fuel consumption and with the political instability created as wars continue to be fought over oil.

So it's all about the invisible hand of the free market, and none of the long-range consequences.  Isn't capitalism wonderful?

The 2014 Democratic statewide ballot

This first in a series reveals a decent ticket for the Blue team. Not bad at all; just a few warts.  Where the candidate's name is hot-linked, you will find additional information, which may be a post of mine, their website or Facebook page, or some other online news.

First, the good...

US Senate

David Alameel
Maxey Scherr
Michael “Fjet” Fjetland
Kesha Rogers
Harry Kim

I think that list is representative, at least for today, of how the order of finish will be in March.  Alameel will put a substantial amount of his $50 million fortune into the race; Scherr will run a progressive populist campaign (she is already), Fjetland will stress his international experience and moderate Democrat background, and the other two candidates (appearing in 'ugly' and 'bad', respectively) will do whatever they will.

Any of these three should be able to acquit themselves honorably in November, and if Steve Stockman pulls off an upset of John Cornyn in the GOP primary, could actually have a hell of a chance to be the next senator from the Great State.  Wouldn't that be something.

Update: Be sure and read Ted at jobsanger's post: "Texas Democrats have 1 Progressive, 1 Unknown, 2 Blue Dogs, & 1 Nutcase Running For Senate".

Governor

Wendy Davis
Reynaldo “Ray” Madrigal

Lieutenant Governor
Leticia Van de Putte

Attorney General

Sam Houston

Comptroller
Michael Collier

Land Commissioner
John Cook

Agriculture Commissioner
Hugh Fitzsimons
Jim Hogan
Richard “Kinky’ Friedman

Railroad Commissioner
Steve Brown
Dale Henry

Supreme Court, Chief Justice
William Moody

Supreme Court, Place 6
Lawrence “Larry” Meyers

Supreme Court, Place 7
Gina Benavides

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3
John Granberg

This likewise is a reasonably strong slate.  With the non-filing of Maria Luisa Alvarado in the lite guv race, only Collier and Granberg have no prior experience as an elected official* (a qualification possessed even by gubernatorial challenger Madrigal, who is mentioned here as a magistrate judge from Sea Drift, near Corpus Christi).  The ticket is unfortunately bereft of African American candidates, save Ms. Rogers and Mr. Brown. From BOR, this with regard to Fitzsimons.

Hugh A. Fitzsimons has filed to run for Texas Agricultural Commissioner. He is from Carrizo Springs, Texas and is a fifth generation rancher. He currently raises bison with Thunderheart Bison. Mr. Fitsimmons (sic) currently sits on the Wintergarden Water Conservation District and has said water and responsible environmental protection will be some of the main issues behind his campaign. You can read more about Mr. Fitzsimmons (sic) in the following New York Times article on water fracking in Texas.

... and this on Granberg.

He is a lawyer from El Paso who practices criminal law at the state and federal level. He is licensed to practice in both Texas and New Mexico. Mr. Granberg had previously run for a Justice of the Peace position in El Paso many years ago. 

One of the things that stands out to me is that El Paso is ably represented on this slate, with Scherr, Moody, Cook, and Granberg.  More to come about candidates down the Harris County ballot, and other parts of Texas after that.

*Not quite. Some corrections appear in the comments.

Update: And read this also from Battleground Texas about Judge Meyers: The Switch.

Texas Green Party fields over 50 candidates for 2014

Socratic Gadfly was first, and The Texas Tribune has left all of them off their brackets so far, but from the inbox...

The Texas Green Party has recruited more than 50 candidates for state and local office across Texas to occupy the ballot in 2014. This is historically the largest number of Green Party candidates that will appear on the ballot in Texas.

"We are very excited to be running so many principled progressive candidates throughout the state," said David Wager, co-chair of the Texas Green Party.

"Our goal is to provide a progressive alternative to the other two parties in Texas and offer voters more voices and more choices than they might otherwise have on the ballot," Wager said.

The most widely known candidate is food safety advocate and whistleblower Kenneth Kendrick of Wilson, who is running for Agriculture Commissioner.

Kendrick was a former manager of a Plainview peanut plant, operated by the now-defunct Peanut Corp. of America, where he alerted authorities and the public regarding alleged food safety violations. PCA went bankrupt after a nationwide salmonella outbreak that was traced to the Plainview plant. Seven people died and hundreds suffered from severe illness.

Many Green candidates, including Martina Salinas of Fort Worth, who is campaigning for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, advocate regulating, limiting, or banning the oil and gas extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing.

"With our state's future and the future of our families in mind, we need to hold all fracking operations, especially waste water disposal, to a high standard," said Salinas. "Even if it means stopping operations, we must ensure that our children's children and beyond can enjoy the beauty that is Texas."

Other Green candidates for statewide office include Emily Marie Sanchez of Del Rio for United States Senate; Brandon Parmer of Dallas for Governor; Chandrakantha Courtney of Houston for Lt. Governor; Jamar Osborne of Dallas for Attorney General; Deb Shafto of Houston for Comptroller; and Ulises Cabrera of Bryan for General Land Commissioner.

A full list of candidates will be released and a press conference held on Thursday in cities across the state. Details to follow.

Parmer ran against Joe Barton in CD-6 two years ago.  Courtney's husband, David, ran in 2012 for state Senate against Joan Huffman (garnering almost 9% of the vote without a Democrat in the race).  Shafto was the Greens' candidate for state representative against Garnet Coleman two years ago, and the party's candidate for governor four years ago.

No mention here about statewide judicial candidates, which would appear to be key to securing ballot access in 2016.  In 2012, two Greens cleared the 5% threshold for the party to acquire ballot access this election season; one was Charles Waterbury, who ran for state Supreme Court.  Texas Democrats left vacant the Place 8 slot on the SCOTX, and two positions on the state's Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4 and Place 9.  If there is a Green running for those, then the absence of a D is usually enough for the GPTX to clear the ballot-access bar.

I'm also looking forward to the reveal of the Congressional candidates, as I heard some interesting rumors about a challenge to Sheila Jackson Lee.  According to my sources it's Remington Alessi, who ran against Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia in 2012.  Another intriguing campaign will be David Collins' bid for Harris County Judge.  The Democratic candidate in that race has been already been disparaged by the mighty Kuffner (scroll down to the third paragraph after the excerpt there).  I would expect Charles to vote for the Republican before he voted for a Green Democrat he didn't like, as he did in the last cycle in the DA's race.

More on the Democrats' filings, state and local, later today tomorrow.

Update: Via Indy Political Report, the Texas Libertarians.  They can also be found on the TexTrib's brackets at the top link.

Update II: Video of the Webb County Green Party press conference, en Espanol.  And the Laredo Morning Times...

Democratic incumbents U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, State Rep. Richard Raymond and State Rep. Tracy King were all expected to run unopposed.

However three candidates from the Green Party announced Monday that they plan to challenge each representative for their respective seats. Michael D. Cary of San Antonio will look to unseat Cuellar, who has held the office since 2005...

Both King and Raymond will be challenged by Green Party newcomers Marco Buentello and Nicolas Serna III for their respective district seats. King has represented District 80 for nearly 20 years while Raymond has been in office since 2001.